Here we have Jesus immediately following his baptism being led to the wilderness where he faces temptation after temptation by the devil. We are not told what all of the temptations are, nor are we told Jesus’ response to those temptations, but we can surmise based on the temptations that are revealed to us that Jesus passed with flying colors even when Jesus was exhausted by hunger after fasting for forty days. It sounds like a daunting task to say the least.
Standing firm in our faith, remaining obedient to God.
It is something that we try and fail at every day, especially when we are prospering. None of us really want to suffer or struggle which is what being a disciple requires of us. As Jesus told his followers at the sermon on the mount, being a disciple takes faithfulness to the divine mission which involves persecution, suffering, and sometimes even death. Which is not a path that is easily followed or embraced. It is a path that can only be successfully sojourned by joining with Christ in solidarity to him and his mission.
So how did Jesus do it? I mean Jesus was human, right? So how did he resist all of the temptations and remain faithful to God? I mean by reading a passage we think it would be pretty easy to fast for 40 days and stand firm in our faith against the devil’s temptations.
But we are not good at resisting temptation, and when I say we, I mean humans in general. We prefer to be comfortable; we are not willing to step out on a limb and stand up for those who are being persecuted or facing injustice. We prefer to retreat into our own safe world and hide until the unrest passes us by. We don’t want to bring attention to ourselves because we might become the next target of those whom we fear will take away our comfort, our families, our belief that we are safe and protected.
Jesus did not have protection or security. He lived in an occupied country. One that had been conquered and ruled over by an aggressive government bent on making the world do their will. Jesus was alone in the wilderness, no support, no help, no food, for forty days. Where did his strength and will to resist the temptations come from? What provided him with the hope to keep pushing forward every day? Jesus could have given up, given in to the temptation and gifted with a comfortable bed, plenty of food, and many servants to care for and meet his needs, if he had only embraced the temptations. If he had only given in to his human desires. He could have been safe and protected, living in comfort.
But that is not what Lent is about, that is not what Jesus is about, nor was it what Jesus modeled for us starting with the 40 days of trials and temptations in the wilderness. Jesus intentionally trusted in God, God’s mercy and grace, God’s love for humanity, God’s desire to reconcile with us, and ultimately in God’s mission for the world or none of us would be able to have salvation. Jesus followed the Holy Spirit, after being filled with the Spirit at his baptism, into the wilderness to create the foundation for his ministry on earth. Over the next forty days until easter arrives we will face temptations and trials, that seek to pull us away from the mission of Jesus, the mission of loving our neighbors, of loving our enemies, of loving all of God’s children. The mission of welcoming the foreigner and the stranger alike. Those that look and think and worship as we do, and those that don’t look and think and worship as we do.
Jesus loved us, each of us because he was filled with God’s mercy, God’s grace, God’s love. God prepared Jesus for the temptations knowing that his human body would crave comfort, and power. God knew this so God filled Jesus with what would be needed for him to be successful in resisting temptation and ultimately saving the world. We too are filled with what we need but we still fail. But our failure is not our undoing thanks to Jesus’ success. Jesus succeeded where no human could not. Jesus succeeded and provides each of us salvation through his cleansing sacrifice on the cross. Jesus succeeded in showing us how to love one another. Jesus stood up for those who were oppressed, forgotten, cast off, shunned, ridiculed, persecuted, and reviled. Jesus resisted temptation to go along to get along because it was counter to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus chose to be obedient to the will of God.
Now some have mentioned that my sermons of late have been bordering on the political side, I counter that with this. If you believe that following Christ is against your political views, then you might want to rethink your values and examine whether or not you have given into the temptations of the devil. Which wants to divide us and pit us against each other. It is not political to love those who live a different lifestyle than we do. It is not political to welcome the foreigner or the stranger. It is not political to embrace those who love differently than ourselves. It is not political to care for those less fortunate than we are. It is not political to stand against oppression and tyranny. It is not political to speak up when people spout hate speech toward another people, or nationality. It is not political to love our neighbors. It is biblical, Jesus said to his disciples before he left them, “They will know you are my disciples by your love.”
“They will know you are my disciples by your love.”
Love, not just for each other, not just for those who think and look as they did, but for all people, in all lands and places.
I don’t care if you are a republican or a democrat or whatever you align yourself with. I love each of you the same. Am I tempted to hate? Every day. Am I tempted to speak ill of those I disagree with? Every day. But because I am obedient to God and attempting to be a disciple of Christ, I will embrace all in love and try to come to a middle ground with each of them.
I will stand up for those who cannot stand for themselves. I will speak out against injustice and oppression. Even if it means I have to be uncomfortable, or persecuted, or have my life threatened, because I know that is what Jesus did for me on the cross, and that is what he demands from each of his followers.
It is not easy, it is not comfortable, it is not human, it is the will of God. So filled with the love, and mercy, and grace of God
